Monday, May 08, 2006

Pen pals

His letter, however, is the second official indication in as many months signaling Iran's willingness to talk directly to the Washington. In March the head of Iran's National Security Council said Iran would talk directly with U.S. diplomats about the situation in neighboring Iraq, accepting an invitation from Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad. No talks are known to have occurred yet, however, while rhetoric over the nuclear issue has spiked on both sides.

The draft resolution is under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, making its demands binding. If Tehran did not comply, it would face the threat of sanctions or military force in a follow-up resolution.

The Bush Administration wants to force a vote on the resolution this week, with or without consensus among all 15 members of the Security Council. Nine votes in favour are needed to pass a resolution, but Russia and China have the right of veto. "We are still working to achieve unanimity . . . but we are prepared to go to a vote without it," John Bolton, the US Ambassador to the UN, said.

Moscow and Beijing are resisting any move that could lead to economic sanctions. Sergei Kislyak, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, said that the Anglo-French draft required "major changes" before it would be acceptable to the Kremlin.

Iran showed no sign of halting its uranium enrichment work, and President Ahmadinejad vowed yesterday to ignore any UN action. "They should know that the Iranians will dash their illegitimate resolution against the wall," he said.